Brush Chronicles No. 10 Omega Pro 10049 Boar

[Antique Hoosier]

I too have been experimenting with an Omega Professional series boar for the last few days, mine is a 100083 and it has been used with Mama Bear's Ye Old Barber Shoppe soap, an "uberlather" of Tabac shaving stick and Tabac shaving cream, and today, Penhaligons Blenheim Bouquet shaving cream. This brush's functionality and performance is starting to make me question all those multiple high dollar badger purchases. To be continued....

 

[jkh]

This lather was slick, rich and cushioning. Can't really ask for more than that.....

No sir, you sure can't

Goorej always delivers an excellent shave and today was no exception. I'm getting much more accustomed to how much water I should leave in the brush before I start lathering. I didn't need to add much water all all today.

Uhm, Shawn ... you do realize you failed to make lather, right? And I am not so sure there is even a blade in that razor. $20 says Shawn has a full beard.

I too have been experimenting with an Omega Professional series boar for the last few days, mine is a 100083 and it has been used with Mama Bear's Ye Old Barber Shoppe soap, an "uberlather" of Tabac shaving stick and Tabac shaving cream, and today, Penhaligons Blenheim Bouquet shaving cream. This brush's functionality and performance is starting to make me question all those multiple high dollar badger purchases. To be continued....

Shark attack!

 

[Sullybob]

No sir, you sure can't



Uhm, Shawn ... you do realize you failed to make lather, right? And I am not so sure there is even a blade in that razor. $20 says Shawn has a full beard.



Shark attack!

No beard here my friend Plenty of lather though!

 

[djh]

I too have been experimenting with an Omega Professional series boar for the last few days, mine is a 100083 and it has been used with Mama Bear's Ye Old Barber Shoppe soap, an "uberlather" of Tabac shaving stick and Tabac shaving cream, and today, Penhaligons Blenheim Bouquet shaving cream. This brush's functionality and performance is starting to make me question all those multiple high dollar badger purchases. To be continued....

That certainly does look fantastic Mike. I am eagerly awaiting your next report!

 

[djh]

For those of you who weren't aware........

the Omega Pro 49 is a large brush

_DSC1348_01

• djh
• Aug 3, 2017

and it seems to be capable of almost anything

_DSC1349_01

• djh
• Aug 3, 2017

 

[Sullybob]

I used a shaving stick today, and didn't have any trouble face lathering at all. I thought that I might simply because the the brush is so big and the has such a long loft, I also thought that it might create quite a mess. I'm happy to report that I was wrong. Lathering was easy and mess free.

After about 40 seconds of face lathering I had some pretty nice lather.

The more I use this brush the more impressed with it I am.​

 

[beginish]

This is a really entry level boar, and one that seems to be a pretty excellent performer. Can someone who has some of the more expensive Omega boars comment on how the Pro 49 compares with them?

 

[dalecooper51]

This is a really entry level boar, and one that seems to be a pretty excellent performer. Can someone who has some of the more expensive Omega boars comment on how the Pro 49 compares with them?

I've had 4 Omega brushes over the last year and have to say that the 49 is my favorite of the lot. My first was the Beechwood handled boar (10005). I wouldn't call it much more high end then the 49. The grade of hair is equivalent, just the knot is smaller at 24mm with 55mm of loft. I really enjoyed this brush, but a friend was looking at wet shaving and I PIF'ed to him. The next brush was the 31064. The handle on this brush was much nicer then the 49 as it should be for more then twice the price. I did not care for the knot (25mm with roughly 60mm loft) as it seemed floppy and lacked the backbone both the 49 and 05 had. I am also not a big fan of the faux banding. It only took me a few uses to make up mind on this brush and sell it. The 31064 handle with the 05 knot would definitely be a winner. My final Omega is the 11047 mighty midget. It is a mixed badger and boar knot that I picked up as a traveler. While diminutive in size, this brush easily holds enough lather for 3 passes plus touch up. It seemed a bit scritchy at first, but is breaking in nicely.

While not high end brushes, if you enjoy medium to large brushes the Omega 49 is a heck of a bargain. It is a workhorse that is a pleasure to use.

Once again, this is only my opinion expressing my experience with a limited number of Omega brushes.

 

[coyotewhisper]

Great tutorial from everyone, excellent pictures. Learning alot about boar brushes. Defnitley need add one to my den.

 

[franz]

Someone who has more experience with Omega boars might be able to answer this (a followup to Bob's question) - with these brushes, you are mainly paying for quality in the handle, and there are no significant differences in the grade of the bristle. True/false?

 

[djh]

Friday morning's shave:

_DSC1350_01

• djh
• Aug 3, 2017

Those of you who have tried Tabac soap can probably imagine the sea of lather that this brush produced after a minute of swirling on the puck. I then proceeded to face lather and it really was a top shave.

So far, the Omega 49 is impressing me. If I had my choice, I would certainly rather a brush with somewhat less loft but for this sort of price I can't complain about a very effective shaving tool.

 

[Badger & Bengall]

Thanks to this thread I bought myself an Omega 10048. When I was 18 I bought my first boar brush and it was cheap rubbish which lost about half a dozen hairs each shave and I was VERY inexperienced with wet shaving so I can imagine this will be a huge step up from that.

Good timing too because my old badger brush started to get rust around the ringlet (poor ventilation in our previous house). I've got an EJ BBB on order too so I'm hoping to get a nice variety.

 

[djh]

After a query in the Shaving Cream Forum, I grabbed a tube of Weleda Shaving Cream to feed to my Omega 49. The meal suited the large Italian and I was pretty happy with the results as well. Great lather and a very pleasant lavender scent.

The brush is showing a few more signs of use.......

_DSC1353_01

• djh
• Aug 3, 2017

Breakfast time!

_DSC1355_01

• djh
• Aug 3, 2017

A little Weleda Cream or should I say, Creme?

_DSC1356_01

• djh
• Aug 3, 2017

Mixing, mixing, mixing......

_DSC1357_01

• djh
• Aug 3, 2017

After the addition of a little more water and a minute of lathering...

_DSC1358_01

• djh
• Aug 3, 2017

A few more drops of water, 90 seconds in the bowl and it is showtime....

_DSC1359_01

• djh
• Aug 3, 2017

This new cream provided a very pleasant shave (although I still prefer to shave with soaps) and it may get a few chances in my travel kit before the Use By Date arrives. By making sure that I used enough product, this Omega Pro produced gobs of lather and after my two passes, there was certainly enough left for another 3 or 4 passes.

 

[shm]

Someone who has more experience with Omega boars might be able to answer this (a followup to Bob's question) - with these brushes, you are mainly paying for quality in the handle, and there are no significant differences in the grade of the bristle. True/false?

To some extent, yes you are paying for the quality of the handle, and then again there are differences in boar hair as well as badger. If you look up some of the threads containing Semogue brushes, you will come across a grading of the hair in their brushes - and they do perform differently. For instance the hairs used in the Semogue Owners Club are very different to the hairs used in the 610.
Omega (or any other boar manufacturer for that matter) doesn't seem to grade their hair and I would expect the quality of all their knots (no matter the size) to be quite similar.

I can't answer Bob's question as I only got two Omegas (same knot) which both are smaller than the 49.

 

[franz]

To some extent, yes you are paying for the quality of the handle, and then again there are differences in boar hair as well as badger. If you look up some of the threads containing Semogue brushes, you will come across a grading of the hair in their brushes - and they do perform differently. For instance the hairs used in the Semogue Owners Club are very different to the hairs used in the 610.
Omega (or any other boar manufacturer for that matter) doesn't seem to grade their hair and I would expect the quality of all their knots (no matter the size) to be quite similar.

Thanks Søren. I should clarify that I meant my question in reference to the Omegas only.

As you say, I have never seen any kind of grading system for Omega like the kind Semogue uses. That makes me wonder if Omega uses a standard grade of bristle for all their boars.

 

[Mike Schutz]

I have four Omegas, Pro 49, 10005, Bambino and Mighty Midget Wide Waist. They all seem to have comparable density and hair quality. The diferences are in the knot diameter and loft. They are all good, solid brushes but not great. A good way to put it is that they are the "Fords" of the boar brushes. Where Semogue makes "BMW's" with their higher quality hair and density ranges.

 

[Sullybob]

I decided to go with a vintage soap today.

After about 45 seconds of loading I was ready to start building lather.

After about 90 seconds of lathering I was ready to shave

I really enjoy the Yardley soap I just wish it had some scent.​

 

[johnnyxxl]

I am using a col. Conks boar brush I was about to worry about the split hairs, and the splaying of the brush.

 

[SOS]

Thanks Søren. I should clarify that I meant my question in reference to the Omegas only.

As you say, I have never seen any kind of grading system for Omega like the kind Semogue uses. That makes me wonder if Omega uses a standard grade of bristle for all their boars.

I have the Pro 49 and the 31025, two different bristles in my opinion. The 49 has a little more backbone, the bristles on the 31025 seem a little thinner (smaller diameter). When wet the 31025 is more floppy then the pro series. All the 31000 series Omegas (more expensive omegas) I've seen are sketched, I don't know if this process affects the bristle and that's what causes the difference. I lean towards the non sketched blond bristle in the pro series.

 

[Big Dog]

Forgive my ignorance, but what does "sketched" mean?